The Galaxy is a Dumpster Fire

A hot, stinking, dumpster fire. And most days I don’t know if the legionnaires are putting out the flames, or fanning them into an inferno.

A hostile force ambushes Victory Company during a reconnaissance-in-force deep inside enemy territory. Stranded behind enemy lines, a sergeant must lead a band of survivors against merciless insurgents on a deadly alien world somewhere along the galaxy’s edge. With no room for error, the Republic’s elite fighting force must struggle to survive under siege while waiting on a rescue that might never come.

When you think you’ve surrounded the Legion... you’ve just made your last mistake.

Kindle Feature Spotlight

Audible book Switch back and forth between reading the Kindle book and listening to the Audible book with Whispersync for Voice. Add the Audible book for a reduced price of $7.49 when you buy the Kindle book.

Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

From the Publisher

Hold on, you’re about to make the jump to light-speed in Galaxy’s Edge.

Leap into a living universe of war’s heroes knee-deep in dark intrigues, blasters and bots in blind alley combat, and scoundrel captains looking to coax one more smuggling run out of their broken-down freighters.

Each book in the Galaxy's Edge series is an essential piece of an interconnected whole. Fight alongside Lieutenant Chhun and Victory Company through the deserts of Kublar in Legionnaire. Join the roguish Captain Keel and notorious bounty hunter Tyrus Rechs as they chase the same target in Galactic Outlaws. Continue to Kill Team to see how all these characters find their place on the galactic stage together, along with Legion Commander Keller, Dark Ops, and the mysterious secret agent X... then brace for a civil war initiated by the enigmatic Goth Sullus in Attack of Shadows.

Galaxy's Edge Part III

A Self-Contained and Expansive Universe!

Galaxy's Edge Season One

The primary story arc detailing how the legionnaires of Victory Company found themselves at the center of a galactic-wide crisis more sinister, violent, and underhanded than they could possibly imagine!

Legionnaire

Galactic Outlaws

Kill Team

Attack of Shadows

Sword of the Legion

Prisoners of Darkness

Turning Point

Message for the Dead

Retribution

Tyrus Rechs: Contracts & Terminations

A series of action-adventure thrillers following the Galaxy's most notorious bounty hunter, Tyrus Rechs. This series sheds more light on Rechs's place in the galaxy, and the events leading up to the Battle of Kublar.

Compelling Stand-Alones

Galaxy's Edge is rich in its own history, with virtually every character having a detailed back story, just waiting to be told.

Imperator tells the origins of Goth Sullus, the would-be ruler of the Republic.

Tin Man provides a touching tale of a repurposed war bot.

More to come!

The galaxy is a dumpster fire, and that fire still burns! Still scheduled for release are series detailing the SAVAGE WARS, Kill Team Victory, Wraith's Dark Ops Mission, The Order of the Centurion winners and more!

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

JASON ANSPACH (1979- ) is an American author known for pulse-pounding military science fiction and then, for a change of pace, quirky, communist-punching, detective stories set in the 1950s. Together with his wife, their seven (not a typo) children, and a border collie named Charlotte, Jason resides in a hundred year old Craftsman home in Tacoma, Washington. He remains undefeated at arm wrestling against his entire family.

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Set several hundred years in the future, on a planet far, far away, a small expedition of Legionnaires is on a diplomatic mission, to cement an alliance between a local village chief and the elected Senator, loyal to the Republic. When the squad is ambushed, it becomes clear that this simple mission has become much more complicated. Familiar themes of soldiers vs. politicians, and bad intelligence endangering fighters, play central roles as the narrative unfolds.

While this is clearly set in the future, and their are some futuristic weapons--lasers, intergalactic space ships, etc., the author makes no attempt to build a world for the reader, and all of the tech plays a very minor role. In fact, the main character loses his highest tech piece of equipment (his helmet) almost immediately, signaling just how little of a role sci-fi will play. In the end, all of the action takes place on the ground, and the weapons could just as well have been conventional guns. This purely a military adventure story, with a thin gloss of sci-fi.

That said, it is a GOOD war story, with lots of action and drama. So, if you like battlefield adventures, dig in.

The Republic army is sending a bunch of its soldiers on a diplomatic mission to the planet of Kublar. The Legionnaires, an elite special fighting force, is sent as well. Ostensibly there to help make peace with the natives and broker an agreement for resource development, the soldiers are there to protect the Republic forces on this mission. Venturing into hostile territory on their vehicles, they get twitchy when they see the natives gathering along their route. But there are rumblings that the Mid-Core Rebels are secretly supporting a sect of the Kublar forces. When a tense situation erupts into violence, will they succeed in their mission or will they die trying?

The Legionnaires are elite soldiers for a reason, as one of them worth a hundred regular men with their training, tactics, and deadliness. Outfitted with custom armor, artificial intelligence in their form fitting helmets, they are a formidable fighting force to be reckoned with. This is proven repeatedly as they fight against odds that are stacked against them. With each battle they engage in, we see why they are the best. Whether it’s against the natives, dealing with strange alliances, powerful weapons, surprise turnabouts and unexpected setbacks, they do their best to adapt and win.

This is not just a straightforward story, as some military science fiction can be. Your typical genre novel can fall into the trap of feeling like a videogame, where you see a gun bounce around your screen as bad guys pop into and out of your field of vision. It’s also easy to be desensitized to the violence on your screen as you blow away bad guys. But this novel is more complex and layered than that simplistic description.

These battles are won by boots on the ground, developing strategies on the fly, working together as a team to take down the enemy. These scenes are intense and riveting, as we experience each struggle to survive through the eyes of Sergeant Chhun as he takes down one enemy after another while trying to avoid being killed. You cannot help but feel your pulse race in these scenes, as your breath quickens and you move your head to avoid getting it shot off your shoulders, as I did while being engrossed by each page I read.

Each battle is different, each one presenting a different challenge for Victory Company to overcome and the quality of the writing here is where the author, Jason Anspach, shines the most. The strategy used to win these battles is multifaceted and fascinating as the problems multiply. Of course, no plan survives contact with the enemy but how they adjust to each brutal engagement and try to win is part of the suspense.

By the time you’ve reached the end of the novel, you feel like you’ve served along with their forces, as the story immerses you so deeply into it. You experience the recoil of the weapon in your hand, feel the heat of the battle sear your skin and smell the carnage around you as you face off against the enemy. The brotherhood of your fellow soldiers, bonded together and forged in battle, you don’t just become emotionally involved. You personally experience fighting for each other, your loyalty towards one another and you are inducted into the Legionnaires by proxy as you read. You are of one of them as you feel the weariness and relief as the battle ends, you assess your casualties, check your supplies and figure out what your next step is. Ooah.

What I liked was the main character, Sergeant Chhun, and why he fights and whom he fights for. It’s not just a shoot ‘em up story, it’s about the men you fight with and we clearly see why he feels this way. It’s one thing to say it and another to see that motivation demonstrated effectively in the novel. The soldiers are disillusioned with the politics that surround the officers who serve with them, including the cowardly Captain Devers, who is the man you come to hate for multiple reasons as you will see.

Each soldier, whether minor or major, gets a chance to shine and differentiate themselves from the others. Their pasts, their training, how it all shapes their present worldview and their duty to one another has molded them into Victory Company. Each one of them is an individual but collectively, they are an almost unstoppable force. These soldiers are not just killing machines, they feel when they make mistakes and assess the battlefield for any advantage they can get. You can see how each battle scars them, their determination and grit evident in their plight no matter how bad it gets as tanks battle and air support rains hell down on the battlefield.

The Kublar are also cunning warriors and are not easy to subdue or defeat. Their culture is fleshed out with just enough detail to see what their motivations are, helping you understand their thought processes and see just how alien they really are. From their different clans to alliances they develop, these creatures fight with a ferocity that proves their mettle against the Legionnaires. This is especially apparent in the final battle of the novel, in which everything is thrown at the Legionnaires in the hopes of eradicating them once and for all.

Just when I thought the novel was over and I thought I could relax, it’s punctuated with a spellbinding epilogue written by Nick Cole, adding an exclamation point to the story. It regales us with an enrapturing tale of the military machine wrongly used for political gain and how it affected one soldier for the rest of his life. You viscerally feel the impact of this story deep in your gut at the horrors described here, providing additional context to what it’s like to be a soldier working for a large galactic government.

You know you have a fantastic story on your hands when you start reading faster than your usual speed because you can’t wait to see what happens next. As a result, this novel is military science-fiction at its best.

This story is the first in a series of novels taking place in a universe called Galaxy’s Edge. This universe was developed as a counterpoint to Star Wars and its sprawling saga. For example, stormtroopers in Star Wars has very poor aim and weak armor. However, in this universe, the stormtrooper equivalent is the Legionnaire, with pinpoint aim and strong armor, feeling like a legitimate threat instead of cannon fodder. As a result, it feels like Star Wars with its fresh take on space opera but it’s not Star Wars. It is its own unique entity, with a history and continuity all its own. Written and developed by these two authors, I tremendously look forward to seeing what they write next. This is a universe full of promise and adventure and I will eagerly get on board to see where they take me next.

These guys know what they're doing. This pair of seasoned authors have decided they just don't give a damn anymore and they're going to write what they want to write. And they've done it well. This book is obviously a well put together allegory of America in Afghanistan and Iraq. These Legionnaires are Rangers, Marines, or Striker Brigades, take your pick. There is an obvious and purposeful element of Star Wars in the mix as well. As they call it Star Wars not Star Wars. Differences like the fact that the Legionaires hit what they shoot at unlike their Storm Trooper counterparts just make this an improvement on the old model. I loved every word of it, and as a soldier in the past myself, some of it got to me emotionally. Simple things like loyalty to your fellow soldier on the line are hard to get right and these guys did it. After writing this I'm going to go sign up for their website and podcast. Semper Fi.